Ted Lindsay Foundation donates $1 MILLION to OU Autism Center

Ted Lindsay Foundation donates $1 MILLION to OU Autism Center

(WJBK) – What hockey legend Ted Lindsay a legend for young people dealing with autism has everything to do with what he is doing today.

The Ted Lindsay Foundation announced Tuesday he’s giving a million dollars to the Oakland University Center for Autism Outreach Services. The 93-year-old Red Wings alumna will not only be remembered for what he did in this uniform — but for what he’s doing today.

Evan Hodge, who is autistic, is happy the money means the stigma of autism may be going away.

“It’s really great that it is being acknowledged nowadays. A little while ago they didn’t understand it very well so it was kind of hard to integrate it into regular society but now that it’s becoming more mainstream, we’re learning more about it,” he said.

The Ted Lindsay Foundation is dedicating the money as OUCARES changes its name to the Joanne and Ted Lindsay Foundation Autism Outreach Services at Oakland University. The money isn’t just for students but for the entire community. Much of the money will be put in place for pre-employment help and scholarships.

“Really, a million dollar sounds like a lot of money but when you’re talking families – is it a dollar a family? Is that 1 million families that are affected? I don’t worry about that. The families that are being affected — we’ve got to find what’s causing the epidemic and take care of that problem,” Lindsay said.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, whose daughter has autism, has been looking closely at autism. He will become a trustee of OU once he’s done with his time in office. He joins current Red Wing Dylan Larkin in helping celebrate this newest chapter for OU. The money will go to teenage and adult autism programming in the community –that’s a critical age category.

“This specifically goes toward programming that helps older kids. Teenagers, young adults and that’s a gap that we have today,” Calley said.

“There are still more people to be helped. Ted is a selfless person and it is an honor to be able to be a part of this today,” who said.

In honor of Ted Lindsay’s contributions of time, talent and treasure to worthy causes in the Metro Detroit area and beyond, Oakland University will proudly confer upon Lindsay an honorary doctorate of humanities degree during its spring commencement exercises.

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